anxa 

94-B 

18012 

A NOTE  ON  THE  ART 
OF  MEZZOTINT  . . . 

AND  ....  . . 

Ill  fell®  MEZZOTINT  PRINTING 
IN  COLOURS  . . . . 

BY 

A.  C.  DICKINS  . . . 


COPYRIGHT 


RAYMOND  C.  GOULD 
324  WEST  5th  STREET 
LOS  ANGELES . . . . 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/noteonartofmezzoOOdick 


AN  EARLY  NOTE  ON 
MEZZOTINT 


FROM  THE  DIARY  OF  JOHN  EVELYN. 


February  21,  1654. 

“ Prince  Rupert  first  showed  me  how  to  engrave 
in  the  Mezzo-tinto  manner.” 

March  9,  1654. 

“This  afternoon  Prince  Rupert  showed  me  with 
his  own  hands  the  new  way  of  graving,  called 
mezzo-tinto,  which  afterwards  by  his  permission  I 
published  in  my  History  of  Chalcography.  This  set 
so  many  artists  on  work  that  they  soon  arrived 
to  the  perfection  it  has  since  come  to,  emulating 
the  tenderest  miniatures.” 


A SHORT  NOTE  ON  THE 
HISTORY  OF  MEZZOTINT. 

THE  Art  of  Mezzo-tinto  (half-tones)  although 
it  found  its  existence  originally  in  Holland 
and  Germany,  has,  through  the  centuries 
become  an  art  purely  English.  If  one  excepts  the 
few  whose  names  are  associated  with  its  inception 
and  early  improvement,  there  are  none  whose  art 
during  the  last  two  hundred  years,  stands  out  by 
comparison  with  the  work  as  such  men  as  McArdell, 
Say,  Dickinson,  Walker,  Valentine  Green,  J.  R. 
Smith  and  the  brothers  Ward,  and  others  equally 
prominently  associated  with  the  eighteenth  century; 
or  with  Charles  Turner,  S.  W.  Reynolds  and 
Samuel  Cousins  of  more  recent  date.  But  at  first, 
to  give  a glance  at  its  earliest  introduction,  we 
have  to  turn  to  the  pages  of  Dutch  history. 

Ludwig  von  Siegen,  a Dutchman,  serving  as  an 
officer  under  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  was  the 
originator  of  the  process,  and  in  1642,  some  twelve 
years  before  its  appearance  in  England,  executed  a 
portrait  of  the  Regent  Mother,  Amelia  Elizabeth. 
The  groundwork  of  this  plate,  several  impressions  of 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum,  was  very 
lightly  made,  and  in  the  engraver’s  own  words 
“only  a few  prints  could  be  made  because  of  the 
extreme  delicacy  of  the  plate.”  For  several  years 
Van  Siegen  kept  his  discovery  a secret,  during 
that  time  executing  several  plates. 


MONA  LISA— from  the  Mezzotint  printed  in 
Colours  by  F.  G.  Stevenson  after  Leonardo 
da  Vinci  published  by  H.  C.  Dickins  26  Regent 
Street,  London. 


Twelve  years  later,  in  1654,  he  taught  his  art  (at 
Brussels)  to  Prince  Rupert,  the  versatile  son  of 
Elizabeth,  Queen  of  Bohemia.  The  Prince  was 
greatly  attracted  by  the  invention  and  soon  mastered 
it’s  technical  difficulties,  executing  his  own  great  plate 
of  the  Executioner  in  1658.  While  on  a visit  to 
England,  Prince  Rupert  shewed  his  secret  to  John 
Evelyn,  and  allowed  him  to  use  one  of  his  plates  as 
a frontispiece  to  his  work  on  engraving.  From  that 
date  mezzotint  became  firmly  established  in  England, 
and  some  twenty  years  after  was  generally  known  as 
44  La  Maniere  Anglaise.” 

As  the  art  of  engraving  in  stipple  had  become  the 
peculiar  forte  of  the  engravers  of  Italy;  Germany,  the 
home  of  the  best  of  the  early  line  engravers,  and  as 
France  had  produced  the  most  delicate  of  reproductive 
etchers,  so  England  has  gradually  improved,  monop- 
olised and  perfected  the  simplest  and  yet  most 
perfect  of  all  the  engraving  arts,  superior  to  any  of 
the  others  in  its  exquisite  softness  of  tone,  and 
smoothness  of  grain. 


MEZZOTINT  OF  THE 
GEORGIAN  PERIOD. 


A great  deal  of  the  perfection  which  Mezzotint 
has  attained  since  its  earliest  date,  is  due 
to  the  progress  which  was  made  by  the 
engravers  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Patronised  and 
encouraged  by  such  men  as  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
John  Hoppner,  Thos.  Gainsborough,  Sir  Thos. 
Lawrence,  and  the  other  great  masters  of  the 
English  revival,  the  engravers  of  that  period  were 
alw’ays  busily  emplo}'ed.  In  the  days  when  photo- 
graphy was  still  unknown,  the  desire  for  presen- 
tation portraits  of  important  personages,  brought 
work  steadily  to  the  engravers.  At  that  date  they 
worked  under  many  disadvantages  which  to-day 
have  been  minimised  by  the  experience  they  have 
gained.  The  preparation  of  the  copper  plates  was 
not  carefully  studied,  and  the  hammering  process 
of  to-day,  which  renders  the  copper  plates  so  much 
firmer  to  resist  the  wear,  strain,  and  pressure  of 
the  printing-press,  was  comparatively  unknown,  the 
plates,  in  consequence,  being  literally  worn  out 
when  an  edition  of  but  thirty  proofs  had  been  taken. 
Even  with  so  small  an  edition,  two  guineas  was  an 
exceptional  price  for  an  impression,  and  most  ot 
the  fine  old  prints  were  originally  offered  to  the 
public  by  the  engravers  themselves  at  from  fifteen 
to  twenty-five  shillings,  including  the  best  plates 
of  the  famous  J.  R.  Smith. 


THE  PRINTS  IN  COLOURS  OF 
YESTERDAY  AND  TO-DAY. 

GENERALLY  speaking,  prints  in  mezzotint 
in  colours  were  not  appreciated  until  within 
quite  recent  date.  This  reason  for  their  early 
unpopularity  is  not  far  to  seek.  In  the  early  days, 
even  at  such  small  prices  as  were  then  the  rule, 
mezzotints  appealed  to  a very  small  circle  of 
collectors,  or  the  owners  of  the  original  pictures 
themselves.  The  first  states  having  been  printed, 
left  the  plates  as  we  have  already  seen,  much  the 
worse  for  wear,  and  then  the  plates  were  used 
again,  proofs  being  pulled  in  colours  as  they  were 
found  to  shew  less  the  decay  of  the  engraved 
surface.  In  comparison  with  the  black-and-white 
proofs  of  the  day  they  were  necessarily  much 
inferior,  and  accepted,  no  doubt,  with  that  relative 
distinction  of  work  which  we  to-day  place  between 
a fine  signed  proof  and  an  ordinary  print  state 
with  the  title  engraved. 

From  the  methods  of  yesterday  let  us  now  turn 
our  attention  to  the  work  that  is  being  done  to-day. 
If  one  excludes  the  historic  interest,  and  the  dignity 
of  colour  tone  that  age  alone  can  give,  the  modern 
mezzotint  work  of  such  men  as  F.  G.  Stevenson, 
E.  Gulland,  H.  Sedcole,  and  others,  apart  from  its 
interest  as  the  revival  of  a very  beautiful  art,  has 
this  one  great  advantage — their  work  is  engraved 
in  mezzotint  exclusively  with  the  object  of  printing 


MRS.  SCOTT  MONCRIEFF-from  the  Mezzotint 
printed  in  Colours  by  E.  Gulland  after  Sir  H. 
Raeburn  published  by  H.  C.  Dickins  26  Regent 
Street,  London. 


proofs  in  colour.  This  is  an  all  important 
point,  as  we  shall  see  later  in  watching  the 
progress  of  a plate,  and  will  give  to  the  best  work 
of  to-day  a position  in  the  future  which  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  relative  position  occupied  by  the 
old  colour-prints  to-day. 

The  sombre  tones  of  a Rembrandt,  the  rich  bro- 
cades of  a Vandyck,  the  simple  and  dignified  tones 
of  the  Italian  Masters  of  the  Renaissance,  the 
wonderful  richness  of  colours  in  the  little  Masters 
of  the  Dutch  and  German  Schools,  the  artificial 
luxury  and  the  gaiety  of  the  French  Masters  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  the  quiet  refinement  of  the 
works  of  the  English  School  of  the  same  period, 
are  all  capable  of  their  best  translation  in  that 
wonderful  smooth  evengrained  surface  that  a well 
ground  plate  affords. 


THE  MAKING  OF  THE  PLATE. 

LAYING  THE  GROUND. 

THE  plate  is  of  copper,  and  has  first  been 
strengthened  by  being  continually  hammered 
until  the  requisite  hardness  best  suited  to 
the  artist  for  the  particular  subject  he  has  in  hand 
to  engrave  has  been  obtained.  The  “ground”  is 
then  laid.  That  is  to  say,  a hand  tool,  called  a 
rocker,  is  worked  upon  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
copper  plate  in  all  directions.  The  tool,  which  has 
hard  metal  teeth,  not  unlike  a comb,  roughens  the 
copper,  giving  it  an  uneven  surface,  appearing  when 
viewed  through  a glass  not  unlike  a field  very 
evenly  ploughed.  This  is  a tedious  process  of 
weeks  of  steady  application,  and  the  fineness  or 
breadth  of  the  “ground”  has  to  be  carefully  judged 
by  the  mezzotinter,  according  to  the  quality  of 
surface  which  his  subject  may  require.  For  example, 
the  fine  work  necessary  in  a plate  of  the  Italian 
school  would  need  a delicate  and  close  “ground,” 
the  work  of  strength  and  breadth  which  we  see  in 
the  best  of  Hoppner’s  or  Raeburn’s  pictures  has  need 
of  a wider,  broader,  and  more  atmospheric  grain. 

At  this  stage  the  outline  of  the  subject  in  hand  has 
to  be  drawn  to  scale  upon  the  plate.  Not  a little 
difficulty  presents  itself  here,  as  will  be  readily  seen, 
the  mezzotint  having  to  be  engraved  the  opposite 
way  round,  in  order  that  the  plate  may  reproduce 
the  subject  in  the  same  position  as  the  original. 


THE  PLATE  IN  PROGRESS. 


THE  drawing  is  now  completed,  and  the  work 
of  scraping  begins.  From  absolute  blackness 
“ ground  ” is  gradually  scraped  away  up 
through  half-tones  to  “light.”  The  “ high-lights  ” 
being  scraped  to  most  perfection  reveal  the  surface 
of  the  plate  smooth  and  shining.  The  hand  scraping 
upon  the  hardened  metal  is  very  lengthy,  requiring 
exquisite  patience  and  knowledge  of  draughtman- 
ship — and  it  is  here  that  the  perfection  of  the 
mezzotinter’s  art  lies.  The  amount  of  scraping  for 
the  best  rendering  of  the  required  colour  effects  has 
also  to  be  carefully  judged,  as  a mistake  may  entail 
the  laying  of  a fresh  “ground.”  In  order  that  the 
copper  may  hold  the  colour  to  the  best  advantage 
a plate  is  not  so  highly  finished  as  it  would  be 
were  black-and-white  proofs  to  be  the  final  state. 
As  an  instance  of  this  the  destroyed  proofs  of  most 
of  Mr.  Stevenson’s  engravings,  which  are  to  be  seen 
in  the  New  York  Library,  and  also  the  original  plate 
of  his  “ Maid  of  Honour,”  after  Peyronneau,  show 
excellently  the  state  beyond  which  it  is  dangerous 
to  go. 

While  scraping  continues  an  occasional  trial  proof 
is  pulled  by  the  engraver  and  the  more  delicate 
details,  such  as  the  rounding  of  a cheek  or  the 
expression  of  an  eye,  are  perfected ; this  accomplish- 
ed to  the  engraver’s  satisfaction  the  plate  is  ready 
to  be  proved  in  colours. 


The  above  illustrates  the  first  stage  of  the 
mezzotinters  work.  It  is  the  pencil  drawing 
from  the  original  picture,  drawn  to  the  scale 
required  by  the  size  of  the  plate. 


THE  PRINTER’S  ART. 


LAYING  THE  COLOURS. 

ALTHOUGH  the  foregoing  short  note  on  the 
progress  of  a plate  pretends  but  to  give  a 
broad  and  simple  view  of  the  mezzotinter’s 
art,  there  are  many  more  delicate  and  technical 
points  which  have  been  omitted,  as  they  are 
largely  practices  and  specialities  of  each  individual 
engraver,  based  on  his  own  experiences  and  best 
suited  to  his  own  artistic  taste.  The  same  remarks 
apply  in  some  degree  to  the  manner  of  printing. 
But  in  both  of  these  matters  the  differences  do 
not  affect  the  methods  adopted  in  the  main  and 
are  the  subject  of  study  for  the  connoisseur,  rather 
than  the  casual  amateur. 

The  copper  plate  is  now  ready  to  print.  Having 
been  thoroughly  cleaned  of  the  wax,  used  to  keep 
the  copper  free  from  atmospheric  effects,  it  is 
placed  on  a small  stove  kept  at  an  even  and 
moderate  heat  ; the  colours  required  for  use  in  the 
printing  are  carefully  mixed  up  on  a palette  with 
a preparation  of  boiled  oil,  just  as  in  painting.  The 
plate  now  well  warmed,  is  first  covered  all  over 
with  a ground  colour  of  a tone  of  brown  black  or 
grey  ink  as  may  be  required  by  the  lightness  or 
heaviness  of  the  subject  to  be  printed,  or  by 
the  condition  of  the  scraping  of  the  plate.  This  is 
afterwards  carefully  wiped  away  and  cleaned  off, 
leaving  only  a very  little  ground  colour  still  in  the 


deeper  furrows  of  the  less  scraped  parts.  The 
colours  are  then  each  applied  carefully  in  the  same 
way  and  wiped  out  again  as  the  experience  of  the 
artist-printer  may  decide.  The  plate,  all  this  time 
being  kept  warm,  the  colours  are  kept  moist  and 
prevented  from  drying.  After  the  larger  surfaces 
have  been  treated,  much  care  has  to  be  taken  in 
the  details  and  small  colourings,  such  as  the  face, 
eyes,  mouth,  details  of  ornament,  and  the  artist’s 
skill  is  brought  into  most  play  here  in  judging 
when  he  has  the  effect  he  desires,  a by  no  means 
easy  matter  when  the  canvas,  so  to  speak,  is  a 
bright  shining  metal.  The  finer  details  are  generally 
painted  on  the  plate  with  a fine  brush  or  stumping 
pencil,  it  is  again  thoroughly  cleaned  with  fine 
cloths,  silks,  and  finally  the  palm  of  the  hand,  and 
is  now  ready  for  the  printer’s  press. 

PULLING  THE  PROOF. 

THE  plate  is  now  laid  face  upwards  upon  the 
bed  of  the  press,  and  the  paper  which  is  to 
receive  the  impression — having  previously 
been  dampened — is  laid  upon  its  face. 

The  hand  press  is  set  in  motion  and  the  plate  and 
paper  pass  slowly  under  the  rollers  which  are 
covered  with  very  thick  blanketing.  The  great 
pressure  forces  the  paper  into  the  plate  and  the 
coloured  inks  are  transferred — giving  one  im- 
pression. 

The  same  trouble  and  care  must  be  given  to 


each  proot,  the  plate  being  cleaned  and  prepared  de 
novo  for  every  impression  of  the  edition.  Simple 
as  this  may  sound,  it  is,  in  fact,  a most  difficult, 
and  uncertain  process.  How  often  a slight 

uncertainty  produces  appalling  results ; a smeared 
cheek,  a squinting  eye,  a hard  mouth,  an  over 
lapping  of  some  colour  here,  the  want  of  it  there ; 
and  until  the  artist-printer  has  proved  to  a nicety 
the  strength  and  weakness  of  his  plate,  the  results 
are  time  after  time  unsatisfactory  and  defective. 

So  many  things  come  into  consideration  in  the 
matter  of  printing  which  would  escape  the  notice 
of  all  but  the  experienced,  and  one  of  the  most 
trying  of  all  is  that  of  the  daylight.  One  day  it  is 
bright,  one  day  it  is  dull,  and  when  viewed  together 
the  impressions  taken  on  each  day  are  quite 
different,  and  probably  in  so  marked  a degree  that 
at  least  one  of  them  will  be  quite  useless.  How 
many  people  ever  think  of  the  actual  number  of 
proofs  pulled,  before  a small  edition  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  perfect  proofs  are  ready  for  distribution  ? 

The  edition  being  now  pulled,  the  plate  is  scarred 
across  to  be  rendered  useless,  some  rough  proofs 
are  pulled  in  black-and-white,  as  evidence  of  its 
destruction,  and  the  plate  passes  into  the  limbo  of 
forgotten  things. 


A.C.D. 


L’ENVOI. 


The  foregoing  short  notes,  to  help  those  who  are 
collectors  to  a more  ready  understanding  of  the 
art  of  mezzotint  and  the  methods  of  colour  printing, 
will,  it  is  hoped,  have  served  in  some  measure  to 
show  the  difficulties  which  have  to  be  surmounted 
before  a finished  proof  is  put  before  them  ; and  will 
help  them  to  better  appreciate  how  deserving  of  a 
real  success  is  a process  so  artistic  and  delicate. 
The  work  of  an  engraver  and  printer  who  can 
overcome  all  these  difficulties  and  produce  a beau- 
tiful piece  of  colour  work  such  as  we  have  seen 
from  time  to  time  during  the  past  few  years,  must 
live.  And  there  is  no  room  to  doubt,  when  the 
more  interesting  facts  in  this  artistic  production 
become  more  widely  known,  the  permanent  and 
high  position  which  this  beautiful  process  will 
occupy  among  the  arts  of  the  future. 


STEPHEN  T.  GREEN, 

ALBION  BUILDINGS,  ALDERSGATE  ST.,  E.C. 


